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[thislittlerattie]

[thislittlerattie]

tomorrow’s the big day

[thislittlerattie]

Spay your rabbits.

Rabbit Uterine Adenocarcinoma

The most common tumor of domestic rabbits is Uterine Adenocarcinoma, a malignant cancer originating from the endometrium (lining) of the uterus. They are estimated to affect between 50-70% of non-desexed female rabbits, and up to 80% of some meat breeds, when over 3 years of age. They are, however, slow growing and slow to metastasize (spread around the body).

There are two theories as to how these cancers develop. One is that they are associated with increased collagen in the uterus, which is a normal old-age associated change. The other is that there is a gradual progression from pre-cancerous changes to cancerous changes, beginning with endometrial hyperplasia, then polyp formation, cystic and adenomatous hyperplasia, and then finally adenocarcinoma. As it happens, this is similar to humans. These precursor stages are associated with reproductive issues and smaller litter sizes.

So because there’s this progressive spectrum between normal and adenocarcinoma you don’t know without histopathology what exactly the changes are. But because they’re such slow growing cancers, if you even think that uterus has a hint of being abnormal, better off getting it out and having the rabbit spayed. Better out than in.

Uterine Adenocarcinoma is thought to take 1 to 2 years to metastasize and can behave in several ways. It can spread through the muscle of the uterus to affect adjacent organs, or it can spread via the blood stream to lung, liver, or bone. It’s certainly possible to ultrasound the liver to look for metastasis, but a chest Xray requires less skill if you choose to screen the lungs instead. If it’s in the lungs, that’s a grave prognosis.

Unfortunately successful chemotherapy for this cancer has not been reported in any of my references, but if the rabbit is still clear at the 2 year mark then the spay was probably curative.

[thislittlerattie]

What animal would you consider the best family pet for teaching kids how to care for animals. I've always preferred rats for how hardy they are but what is your opinion?

My opinion is a ‘family pet’ is going to be cared for primarily by the adults, so the ‘best’ family pet is one that the adults will be able to care for well, and remain interested in.

Even if the ‘intention’ is to have the kids responsible for part of its care, ultimate responsibility must remain with the adults. Adults don’t get to put any blame on the kids for what happens to the pet if they forget to do something, or if the pet gets sick. They can’t expect kids to be completely responsible for the pet’s entire life.

It’s depressingly common how often I see families that expect an 8 year old to be making serious decisions about a pet, or who have just thrown kids in the deep end with pet care and expect them to ‘learn’ when things are going wrong. This is unfair for everyone involved.

So the ‘best’ family pet is something that the adults are prepared to take on.

[thislittlerattie]

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Cherry has some crazy boggles!

[thislittlerattie]

He’s being polite

[thislittlerattie]

Sleepy baby

[thislittlerattie]

😍  oh my, your blog is literal perfection and a friend of mine just got lost about a friggin hours just wandering through it spoiling themselves with rat content (spoiler im the friend) ?!  everything looks so damn neat and I absolutely LOVE how this blog provides lots of quality info and openly stands for the wellbeing of the animals, and all without being preachy,wich sadly gets rarer and rarer in the pet community. plus, the pics just killed and revived me all over. 

a+++++++ quality blog, 112/10 ,just shared with all my rodent people & will do again.

greetings from a fellow vet tech & her nasty lil goblin : D

Hello! thank you for the kind words! I love your goblin!! What a quality rodent!

[thislittlerattie]

[thislittlerattie]

An interesting thing happened when I was at the vet: He mentioned that when he started practicing, it was fairly common to see rats live to four or five years, and he even treated a seven-year-old rat.

My vet is old, so this is decades ago, back in the late ’60s. He isn’t sure why, but suspects that the decline in lifespan could have something to do with selecting for “desirable” traits like dumbo ears and fanciful markings or colors, which sometimes brought along compromised health.

Well, I’m curious! I want to know:

How long *do* rats typically live nowadays? Versus before now?

Do certain types of rats live longer?

Is it more common for rats to pass away during certain seasons when URIs are more prevalent?

So I made a rat lifespan survey! 

You can fill it out for each of your rats that passed away — but please don’t fill it out for rats that weren’t under your care (like at a rescue, unless it’s YOUR rescue)

Totally anonymous, if you prefer, but I *do* need a rat’s name.

Only 10 questions!

Please share! I want to get as many responses as possible to get a good picture of lifespans. I’m going to fill it out too.

Regarding the seven-year-old rat, my vet said, “I’ll never forget that that one. He was a black hooded rat.” ♥

[thislittlerattie]

7# seamstress/tailor witch

for some reason i wanted to draw a rattie ;u; so heres a watercolor/ink drawing of a witch rat

i know its suppost to be just ink but shh

[thislittlerattie]

I'm saddened to say that over the past weekend Ellie had to be euthanized. I will miss her greatly. Wait for me over the rainbow bridge, with your sister Isabelle, Miss Ellie 🌈💔

Miss Ellie enjoying a peanut 🐀

[thislittlerattie]

[thislittlerattie]

Don’t worry little fella’ 

[thislittlerattie]

Asfgjkklly yeah.

Made this and thought you would enjoy 😊

You are correct. I enjoyed this very much, and suspect others will too.

[thislittlerattie]

Ha ha ok, but where is my popcorn

[thislittlerattie]

Miss Ellie enjoying some baby food 💕